Maharashtra: Fire damages trees at actor Sayaji Shinde’s ‘Sahyadri Devrai’ project site in Beed

A fire broke out at actor Sayaji Shinde’s Sahyadri Devrai plantation in Beed, Maharashtra, damaging trees. No casualties occurred. Shinde criticized the government’s plantation claims and highlighted the environmental loss caused to trees and soil microorganisms

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A fire damaged trees at a plantation site of actor and tree activist Sayaji Shinde in Maharashtra’s Beed district, an official has said.

Nobody was injured in the fire that broke out around 9 pm on Wednesday at the ‘Sahyadri Devrai’ project in Palwan village, he said.

Shinde termed the incident as “serious”, and targeted the state government over its tree plantation figure claims.

The Beed rural police alerted their control room, and the message was relayed to the fire brigade. Since the fire engine in Beed was out of order, the Gevrai fire station was roped in for the firefighting, the official said.

It took nearly 90 minutes to control the blaze. The cause of the fire has yet to be established, he said.

The work at Palwan plantation site began in August 2017, according to the website of Sahyadri Devrai. Nearly 1.65 lakh trees were planted over 40 hectares under the project, it said.

Actor Shinde, who is also a member of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, is known for his love for trees. He had said last month that he would oppose the government if it was adamant on removing trees in Nashik’s Tapovan area to build a ‘Sadhu Gram’ ahead of the Kumbh Mela, which will begin in October 2026.

Meanwhile, talking to a Marathi news channel, Shinde said, “The Sahyadri Devrai fire incident is serious. Such incidents not only destroy trees but also damage the microorganisms there.”

Questioning the state government over its tree plantation figures, he said, “The government claims that it has planted 15 lakh trees in this area. But where are the trees that found an entry in the Guinness Book (of World records)?” “We have completed 40 such Devrai projects so far. We plan to have 100 such Devrais (plantation projects) in the state,” he said.